Duo Complex
by gerichung
Summary: When I left you... I was sure I'd never see you. But when I did, it wasn't you... Cloud X Aeris
1. Runaway

Chapter 1: Runaway

**Disclaimer:** Square Enix owns Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, its predecessor and all their characters.

The letter stood out because of its pink floral perfumed envelope.

Tifa hesitated, then shrugged and opened it. As Cloud Strife's confidential secretary she had permission to open all mail which came to the office unless it was clearly marked 'Private and Personal'. In fact, Cloud himself insisted upon it. He also insisted she decide and deal with everything not requiring his individual attention. The head of Zenogais Agency was clearly someone who did not want to be bothered with trivia.

Tifa knew, however, from the first few words, that this was one letter she _shouldn't_ have opened. But the damage had been done and there was no going back. She scanned the brief note all the way through, her chest becoming tighter and tighter as she read each and every carefully hand scripted word.

_Dear Cloud,_

_By the time you read this I will have left you. Don't try to find me. You won't succeed. Even if you do, I won't come back to you, no matter what. Believe me when I say I never _

_want to see you again. I overheard what you said to Vincent last Sunday regarding your attitude to love and marriage. And wives._

_May God forgive you for what you've done to me, because I never will._

_Aeris_

"Dear God," Tifa muttered, staring at the letter in disbelief.

She closed her eyes for a second, swiveled round her chair and stood up. There was no use trying to hide her mistake in judgment. Cloud could not really blame her for opening the darned thing, though he might criticize her lack of feminine intuition. He would really be furious, however, at any delay in acquainting him with such a letter.

Gathering herself, she stepped up to the door which separated her office from her employer's and gave it her usual precise tap.

"Yes," came the curt reply.

Tifa straightened her spine and marshaled a confident expression.

Cloud was a difficult and demanding boss at the best of times, a workaholic with a perfectionist personality. Failure was anathema to him; success his God. The man who would be king of Gold Saucer's entertainment industry was ruthless when crossed and given to caustic comments whenever anyone didn't come up to his impossibly high standards.

Fortunately, Tifa was a top secretary, totally competent, cool in a crisis and unflappable under fire. During the four years she'd held this job which was a lifetime in comparison to the secretaries before her; it had been rare for her to provoke her boss into criticizing _her _work performance.

On the one occasion when she _had_ been on the end of Cloud's cutting sarcasm, Tifa had been sorely tempted to quit on the spot. She had married young and had a husband once with a nasty tongue and not to mention abusive temperament and did not relish being on the other end of anyone's temper these days.

But she was twenty years old, and did not fancy her chances as a young divorcee to be on the open and very competitive job market. Her qualifications were impeccable, so 

were those of older women who had over the years more going on for them than their secretarial skills.

Seduction had never been Tifa's strong hand; or rather it was something she didn't believe in to get to the top. So she'd bitten her tongue at the time, while reminding herself that not only had Cloud paid her well enough, he was the one who gave her a chance at this job so she had to put up with the occasional blast.

But she didn't like the man. Not one bit.

Steeling herself against what was to come; she opened the door and stepped into the holy of holies.

He didn't look up, his attention all on some photographs he was studying. No doubt some struggling actors, actresses or singers who wanted to make it big in this industry but never could. If Cloud could be respected for something, it was his keen eye for talent, when he found someone that he believed had the potential, that individual would be besieged by offers that they couldn't refuse, and more often enough, after which, their quiet lives took a turn for the better and would never be the same again.

"What is it Tifa?" he said brusquely, still without looking up.

Tifa almost relished giving him the damned thing.

"This letter came in the morning mail, Cloud," she said coolly. "I thought you would want to read it straight away." _Now_ she had his attention, his golden head snapping up, a frown not marring his disgustingly handsome face.

"Who's it from?"

"Your wife."

"_Aeris?_" He could not have been more startled.

"I'm sorry, Cloud. It wasn't marked 'Private', and there was no reason for me not to open it." She came forward and handed the note across to him, thanking her lucky stars that the simple white paper it was written on was not as fancy as the pink envelope.

Butterflies crowded in Tifa's stomach as her boss's piercing blue eyes immediately dropped to the note. She watched him read the 'Dear John' letter, watched as he tried to absorb his wife's rejection of him as a man and a husband. A small shred of sympathy twisted Tifa's heart. For she knew this had to be killing him. Cloud so hated to fail in anything.

Losing in a business deal was bad enough…

Losing his wife was something else…

Who would have believed it of Aeris? To all appearances she was such a soft, trusting soul, a mere child when compared to her cynical and streetwise husband which was unusual as she was just twenty two to his _very sophisticated_ twenty one. A babe in the woods. A lovely yet naïve girl whom Cloud had clearly thought he could mould and train to be the sort of wife who could never give him any trouble: the type that stayed at home and filled the roles of mother, lover and hostess to perfection, who never complained when he was late for dinner or had to fly away on business at a moment's notice, the 

type who loved her husband to distraction and blindly believed he loved her back, simply because he told her so.

Tifa had cynically watched her employer play his own roles to perfection so far. He'd been the perfect courtier, the perfect fiancé, the perfect new husband. Nothing had been too good for his bride. He'd showered her with every luxury money could provide. He'd seemingly showered her with his personal attention as well… Up to a point.

Not that they had been married long. Just over nine months.

Tifa had been waiting for the rot to set in, for Cloud to show his true colours. And it seemed he had. For ages he just sat there and stared at the paper. When his hands started shaking, he crumpled the note into a crushed ball and leapt to his feet, his face flushing angrily. "You read this?" he growled, glaring at Tifa.

She nodded.

He swore, and then whirled to stalk over to the far window which overlooked the river. But he didn't look at the view. With hands still shaking, he unfolded the crushed note and read it again. Suddenly he spun back to Tifa, his blue eyes glittering as they did when he got the bit between his teeth over something and was about to run with it.

"Do you have the envelope this came in?" 

Tifa nodded again, but she was quaking in her sensible shoes. One look at that envelop and he might question her discretion in opening it.

"Get it for me," he snapped. "And get Reno on the phone."

Tifa's eyes rounded. Reno was a private investigator Cloud used sometimes when he needed to do background checks on the people he represented as well as the clients of his competitors. The man was thorough and usually came through with the goods.

"Well, don't just stand there gawking at me," Cloud snarled. "That won't bring Aeris back, will it?"

"But… She said she didn't want to come back." Tifa was driven to protest for a fellow female.

"The only thing Aeris wants," Cloud ground out with his usual one-eyed stubbornness, "is to be my wife. Unfortunately, he has totally misunderstood some things I said to a man who was distressed over his divorce at that time. When Reno finds her I'll make her see that. Now hop to it, woman. Time is a-wasting. I have an important business dinner this coming Saturday night and my wife is going to be there, by my side, as usual!"

Tifa had no choice but to do as she was told, but she did so resentfully, hoping all the while that Reno would be unsuccessful. Aeris was a sweet girl and deserved better than to be hoodwinked by the likes of Cloud Strife.

Handsome he might be. And intelligent. And rich. But there wasn't a soft-hearted sell in his entire body. He was a ruthless predator who was incapable of really loving a woman. He was a user and a manipulator. A conscienceless cynic. Unfortunately, Aeris 

loved him. Even Tifa had seen that. She fairly glowed whenever he looked at her. In all likelihood she still loved him, despite that letter.

Tifa prayed Cloud would never find his runaway bride. For God knows what would happen to her, if and when he did.


	2. Boats

Chapter 2: Boats

**Disclaimer:** Square Enix owns Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, its predecessor and all their characters.

Six months.

Aeris leaned against the mast of the old pearling lugger, dragged in a deep breath of the salted sea air, and then let it out slowly…

Six months…

Time to relax at last, perhaps? Time to stop looking over her shoulder and expecting Cloud to be standing there? He hadn't found her yet. Which still surprised her.

Admittedly, she'd planned her escape well, had known how imperative it was not to leave anything for him to go on. She'd taken nothing which belonged to her life as Missus Cloud Strife. Not her jewels… None of the glamorous clothes hanging in her massive walk-in wardrobe. Certainly none of her credit cards. Only cash. And then only as much as she needed.

Aeris had wanted nothing from her marriage except escape.

She hadn't gone home to her mother, not even for a moment, because that would have been the first place Cloud would look. She'd fled to Costa Del Sol where she got a job transporting racing boats to various parts of the world. The work had keep her incommunicado and safe from all eyes for the last six months, however when the racing season ended. It was with much fear that she returned to the shores of Costa Del Sol. Fortunately though, Costa Del Sol was a place that Cloud would never think to look.

Aeris closed her eyes momentarily, a tremor racing through her. She might have physically escaped, but it would be a long time before she found emotional escape. Cloud was out of sight, but would he ever be dispelled from her mind? Or ejected from her traitorous body? She still dreamt of him at night, disturbing dreams in which Cloud was inevitably making love to her as he only could. She would always wake just as the act was being consummated, leaving her hot and trembling from a desire that was as real as the dream had seemed.

How long, she agonized, before the fires Cloud had carefully and callously stoked within her were extinguished? How long before she stopped needing what he'd made her addicted to? Him, every night in her bed. Him, making her respond, even when she didn't want to. Aeris shuddered at the memory of her appalling weakness for the man, even _after_ her shocking discovery that Sunday.

How could she have let him make love to her that night when she'd _known_ what he was? Worse, how could she have found pleasure in it? She shuddered again, despising herself anew. It was wicked for a man to have such power over a woman. There again, Cloud _was _wicked.

Aeris sighed. He'd look anything but wicked that day eighteen months ago when he'd come striding down the pier at Ju'on, wearing nothing but dazzlingly white shorts and T-shirt, perfect foils that brought out his sun-kissed features and sun colored hair. Perfect vehicles to display his tall, superbly perfect form. Aeris was not to learn till after their marriage how hard Cloud had worked on that body, witnessing herself the grueling daily sword practices he put himself through in his private dojo to achieve such physical perfection. He didn't have to work on his face, however. It had been born perfect, with classically sculpted features, lips to die for and gorgeously blue come-to-bed eyes.

Aeris would never forget the instant lurching in her stomach when she's looked up and seen that gorgeous face for the first time…

"Hi there," he said, coming to a halt near the prow of a clients' fishing charter boat and giving her a very slow and sexually charged once-over. "You for hire, beautiful?" She just gaped at him, color flooding up her throat and into her cheeks. "The boat, gorgeous," he drawled, his eyes shining in wry amusement. "I meant the boat."

"Oh." She straightened from where she'd been swabbing the deck with a mop and bucket. _Of course he meant the boat!_ How could she have possibly imagined a man like him meant otherwise, even for a moment? Good God, she must look a sight, with perspiration running down her face, her honey colored hair half tumbling down, and her shorts and top soggy from the water she'd been sloshing around in somewhat of a temper in her part-time job. 'Hot and bothered' did not begin to describe her at that moment, her discomfort not helped by this incredibly good-looking species of a man who kept staring at her.

"I'm not too sure about that," she said, hating her high-pitched voice. "I just clean them. But I have an aversion to washing floors. Any other cleaning job I'll do quite willingly. But not floors." She was rambling, and wanted to smack herself silly for it. "In that case, I promise never to ask you to wash the floors." He smiled widely at her, his blue eyes laughing. Aeris found herself smiling back, even while her heart fluttered and her stomach flipped over. Never had a man affected her like this. Then again, never had she ever seen such a man.

However, Aeris noticed immediately off-hand that despite his casual clothes, the blonde God standing before her exuded an aura that made her suspect that he was used to more sophisticated pastimes. There was something about the cut and grooming of his spiky golden hair that just oozed money. The watch around his wrist looked expensive as well, as did the chocolate tinted sunglasses he held in his left hand. She immediately wondered what on Gaia he was doing here and why he wanted to hire a rickety fishing boat. There seemed only one explanation.

"I suppose you want to go deep-sea fishing," she said, more of a statement than a question. It wasn't well known, but the ocean just beyond Ju'on's shallows was home to some of the largest and most beautiful creatures imaginable. "No. I'm not interested in fishing." He said. "Well, I hate to say this, but the boats here are only fishing charters… 

None for holiday cruises." "That's all right. I don't want a holiday cruise, either," he said, his gaze travelling over her from head to toe a second time.

Aeris had always had to put up with a degree of male attention, being long-legged, ethereal and elfish, with soft curves. Normally, she didn't mind, except when the male in question was being really objectionable. Her over-protective foster mother, however, always went ballistic. Ever since her biological mom passed away, her foster mother had taken her under her wing and was incredibly strict with the company she kept. As a result, Aeris's relationships with the opposite sex never lasted long. Never got off the ground, really. Her one and only boyfriend she had before, Zack had been wonderful, but his constant trips away from home eventually ate away at their relationship. Well, at least they were the best of friends now. She never minded her inexperience. She'd never thought she was missing out on anything. In truth, she'd never felt the slightest inclination to go beyond kissing and hand-holding with any male. Till now…

"Well, what do you _want_, then?" she asked, mildly exasperated and more than a little agitated by the alien feelings flooding through her. "Just to have a good look around here…" he explained coolly, even while his eyes kept eating her up. "I'd heard about this place, but I had no idea it had such hidden… treasures." Aeris could hardly believe the messages he was sending, both with his smoldering blue gaze and this last astonishing statement. She stared back at him, beyond blushing now, beyond anything 

but savoring the seductive thought that this incredibly handsome, suave, sexy, assured man seemed to find her as irresistibly attractive as she found him. "My name's Cloud, by the way," he said, climbing over the deck of the boat and holding out a long fingered strong hand. "Cloud Strife."

"Aeris," she returned breathlessly, and placed her own slender and slightly shaking fingers within the confines of his longer and much stronger grip. "Aeris… um… um…" Panic set in as her befuddled brain scoured her memory for her own silly surname. "Aeris Um-Um," he chuckled teasingly. "What an interesting name." The blush rushed back, hotter than ever.

"It's Gainsborough," she blurted out at last. "Aeris Gainsborough." Dear Heaven, why did she have to make a fool of herself in front of him? "Well, Aeris Gainsborough," he said, his smile soft and warm, "I think that's a very good name and suits you admirably. But Strife would be better."

"Strife?"

"That's _my_ name. Have you forgotten it already? It will be hilarious to tell our children that when their mother met their father she forgot her own name, and then his." Cloud chuckled. "Our _children_?" she choked out, her green eyes almost popped out of their sockets in shock. "You do want children, don't you?" he asked, for the entire world as if it was a serious question.

"I… I…"

His smile became both admiring and indulgent as he lifted her fingers to his mouth. "I can see I'll have to make all the important decisions in our marriage. But that's all right by me," he murmured as he kissed each fingertip in turn. "I've always believed that a man in head of his family and king of his castle." Aeris snatched her hand away from him. "You're insane! Have you lost your chocobos?"

"Not at all," he returned, without turning a hair. "In fact, I could give you a hundred references testifying to my sanity. But I appreciate I _am_ rushing you a little. I promise to slow down if you promise to have dinner with me tonight… What do you say?"

And so began their whirlwind courtship, Cloud sweeping Aeris off to the altar barely three months after their first meeting. She went to his bed on their wedding night still a virgin. Not that she'd wanted to be. The moment she'd set eyes on Cloud he'd stirred sensuality in her she hadn't known she possessed. But he'd wanted to wait, he'd told her. At the time she'd thought that was so sweet. Now she realized it was all part of his Prince Charming act. In reality he'd probably had some other woman on the side, catering to his carnal needs, while he made silly Aeris wait. By the time the wedding had come along she'd been consumed by the most excruciating sexual tension, a ready slave for whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it. Price Charming indeed… He was the devil incarnate.

Aeris sometimes wondered what would have happened if she hadn't decided to go for a walk in the gardens that fateful night, if she'd never overheard that appalling conversation. The realization that she would still be going along blithely and blindly as Missus Cloud Strife brought mixed feelings. Maybe it would have been better if she'd never found out. She'd been happy, hadn't she?

Not entirely, she was forced to concede. Oh yes, Cloud had given her everything she could possibly want. He'd spoiled her outrageously. And it had been wonderful for a 

while. Cloud had swept her into a world she hardly knew existed, a sophisticated glamorous world of haute couture, dinner parties and decadently expensive restaurants. She'd been agog with excitement over it all for the first few months. But eventually her privileged and pampered lifestyle had begun to pall a little. She'd become bored with having nothing to fill her days but dress-fittings and hair appointments Her only activity had been to make herself beautiful for the evenings she spent with her husband.

Once the honeymoon was over, she'd rarely seen Cloud during the day, and he worked six days a week. Sundays hadn't been much better. He'd spent so much time on the phone, even in the car when they were driving somewhere. Mobile phones, she believed, were a menace. When she'd mildly complained over breakfast one morning of her loneliness and boredom, Cloud had suggested charity organizations, flower arranging classes and cooking courses. When she'd hinted at a baby instead, he had vetoed that for another year at least. He'd wanted her all to himself, he'd said.

That night, he'd come home with two dozen red roses and made love to her for hours.

Looking back, Aeris could well understand why she hadn't been really content. Cloud had reduced her to nothing but a glorified mistress and hostess. He never took the time to discuss his business with her, except in scant detail. She knew nothing much about 

his past, or even his present, except what he'd chosen to tell her. Which wasn't much. She had no friends of her own. No life of her own, except as Cloud's wife.

It had been her growing discontent that had driven her into the gardens that fateful evening. One of Cloud's business colleagues had come over for dinner, and, true to form, after coffee Cloud had taken him into his study to talk business, leaving Aeris at a loose end. As usual. So she'd decided to walk down to the garden seat that overlooked the river. Water was a soothing element to her and the view was breathtaking. The shimmering flow of the river reflected the diamond sky to utmost perfection. She'd left the house by the side door, and had been walking along a path not far from the study when the open French doors and the stillness of the sultry evening had caused Cloud's voice to carry far beyond the room.

"You made a mistake marrying a woman you loved so madly, Vincent. Such passion destroys a man's brain cells. And his judgment. Marriage should be approached like a business deal. With lots of cool thought and calculated research."

On hearing those first shocking comments, Aeris became riveted to the spot. Little did she know that there would be more to come…

"There are two types of women," Cloud continued. "Soft and hard. The givers and the takers. The first wants to love and be loved in return. The second wants everything else. Believe me when I tell you that these days the soft ones are getting rarer. You have to get them young, before they're contaminated by other men. And life. Take Aeris for instance. She may be a year older than me but she had no serious boyfriends before she met me. Naturally, she wasn't from one of the big cities. Generally speaking, city girls are bad news. I knew from the moment I met Aeris that she was just what I was looking for. Perfect wife material in every way. Innocent, sweet, beautiful. A natural giver."

"And very much in love with you," Vincent remarked drily.

"Still is," Cloud pronounced with a casual arrogance that took Aeris's breath away. "Of course, we've only been married for a short time." He went on. "But I have no intention of ever becoming too complacent where Aeris is concerned. You know what happens when you neglect a business. Before you know it the damned thing folds. I gave up a whole month for our honeymoon, and still pour a lot of time and money into my beautiful new bride. I don't neglect her in the bedroom and I give her every material thing any woman could possibly desire, in return for which she gives me what every man wants. Complete love and loyalty."

"But don't you love her, Cloud?" came Vincent's troubled question.

"Love wears best on a woman," came his coldly cynical reply. "As I said before, a man who loves is weaker for it. It makes him stupid. And vulnerable. The last thing a woman wants is a husband who's weak, stupid and vulnerable. In the end, she falls out of love with such a fool and leaves him for another, stronger individual. Of course, I'm not saying you don't _tell _them you love them. Amazing what those three little words can do for a marriage. I don't let a day go by without telling Aeris how much I love her."

"That sounds awfully callous, Cloud…" "Not at all. It works, Vincent. You won't find my marriage ending in divorce, you mark my words." Aeris had certainly marked them. _All_ of them. It was just a pity that she didn't have the courage to throw them in his face personally. She'd been going to confront him that very night, as soon as Vincent left the house. But the wretched man had stayed for ages, till her own misery had forced her to go upstairs to bed.

Not that she'd slept. Midnight found her lying wide awake in bed, tensely listening to Cloud's footsteps on the stairs. "Waiting up for me, beautiful?" he said on entering the 

room. "How sweet," he murmured, smiling softly down at her as he undressed. Aeris watched him, cotton mouthed, her stomach swirling with a mixture of distress and dismay. She felt sickened by the situation, and her foolishness in being taken in by him so easily. And yet, how could she have known what he was? He'd always been so incredibly good to her, had fulfilled all her romantic dreams, especially in bed. No man could have been a better lover. Or more considerate.

Her mind was whirling with all these thoughts when he slipped into bed beside her. Her mouth opened to say something, only to be covered by his in a gentle kiss. Much more gentle than his usual style. Aeris hoped that he wasn't going to continue, that it was just a goodnight kiss. But it seemed stopping was not on Cloud's mind. Soon, it wasn't on hers either.

Afterwards, she lay there, stunned, shattered. How could she have let him? And how could she possibly have found so much pleasure in it? It was then that she knew that she had to remove herself completely from his corruptive physical presence. She had to flee. If she confronted him with the truth – that she'd overhears what he'd told Vincent in the study after dinner – he would find some way to explain it, to convince her that he didn't really believe what he'd said, that he really did love her.

Aeris believed that if she let him do that, she would be lost. She could bear a lot of things in life, but she could not bear to live a lie. Cloud's love meant everything to her. Dear heaven, it was _her _world! She had given up everything for him. Her family and friends. Her home… Her beloved love for the sea. All for nothing… An illusion… Like a mouse caught in a trap.

On the Monday, she made her secret plans to flee the marriage, and this man who had such terrible power over her – demonstrating that power again that night, despite Aeris finding what she hoped was a perfect excuse to be left alone. A migraine. Her claim of a headache however, brought nothing but solicitous offerings of painkillers and an aromatherapy massage. Admittedly, it had been a very long, very enjoyable, very sensual massage. In the end, she succumbed to those knowing hands, despising herself all the while she was wallowing in her husband's erotic expertise. When she'd sobbed afterwards in his arms, he actually thought she was still in pain, and was so apologetic she almost thought that she had to be mistaken about him.

But that was just desperation talking, silly Aeris not wanting to believe she could still love and want any man who could speak of marriage – _their _marriage – as he had that Sunday evening.

The final night she spent in their marital bed did not include any further humiliation. Aeris could not have borne it. She'd come to the difficult decision to take the initiative in the bedroom that last night, thereby salvaging what little pride and self-respect she had left. Better she accept the inevitable with some dignity than act like some idiot of a victim who could not help herself. So she climbed into their bed naked and reached for him first, startling him. Not once during their marriage had she done that. Perversely, he'd seemed very pleased. He didn't realize her actions were driven and inspired by desperation and despair.

It was ironic that his subsequent lovemaking carried a sweet tenderness Aeris had never previously experienced in his arms. She responded to that tenderness, even more than she had to his passion the previous two nights. Cloud would never know how much he had lost in losing her. She would have devoted her life to him, if only he'd loved her back. Instead, he had reduced her to nothing but a shell of a woman, tormented by thoughts of what might have been, tortured by what her marriage had actually been. A cruel cynical, cold-blooded sham.

"Got the food and drink ready, Aeris?"

Aeris spun round, the sea breeze whipping her long honey brown hair across her face. "Yes Zack. Everything's ready." She called back. "Good girl. Hold the fort while I collect tonight's party," her best friend said giving her a quick wink before nodding towards the distant figures on the beach. Aeris shaded her eyes with her hands and peered to the shore. She knew they had a booking for six, but not the ages nor the genders of the people. It looked like two couples, a single man and a single woman. You could usually guess their status by the way they stood, either in close pairs or out on their own. "Won't be long." Zack undid the rope, jumped into the Zodiac dinghy and fired the outboard motor. Within seconds, the small craft was speeding across the water towards the beach, its flat bottom slapping loudly against the top of the waves, salt spray flying everywhere.

He was a little bit of a wild child that was Zack for you.

He was also the captain and owner of _The Zephyr_, a pearling lugger he had lovingly built from scratch. Aeris and Zack teamed up recently and now made decent living bringing tourists up and down along the coral reefs. As a result of their past relationship, Aeris knew she could trust Zack, and him, her. They worked well together and often acted as a couple, which wasn't difficult for them to fend off demons of the opposite sex. Aeris shook her head and tried to hold in a laugh as Zack's dinghy accidently hit a seagull squatting in the water, sending it squawking. Zack grinned back.

He turned the Zodiac – now lined with people and headed back towards the lugger, going as fast as ever. _Show off_. Aeris thought wryly a she moved to stand at the side railing, ready to help everyone aboard. Twenty seconds later, the small craft was close enough for her to make out the various eager and expectant faces. When her eyes moved to the man sitting alone at the back, her green eyes flung wide open, her heart missing more than a beat.

"Oh no…" She whimpered. "Please, God… No… It _can't _be."

But there was no mistaking that handsome face. Or those large blue eyes. Her husband had found her.

There was no escape this time, not unless she flung herself into the depths of the ocean.

_**Hey everyone! I'm BACK!! I've had several reviews that have commented that I've been too poetic so I've been trying to tone it down in this new fic…. And this **_

_**time. I can assure you all that a new chapter will be out every week before I get writer's block so you guys don't have to wait too long for updates!**_

_**See ya'll next week!**_


	3. Show Down

Chapter 3: Show Down 

**Disclaimer:** Square Enix owns Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, its predecessor and all their characters.

**Author's note: Just to clarify, Zephyr is the name of the lugger, Zodiac is the name of the dinghy. Apologies for the confusion.**

Her heart started thudding. Blood began to roaring through her head. As did a whole bunch of furious thoughts. How dared he pursue her like this? Six months had gone by. Six long, miserable months... She'd just begun to feel safe. Just begun to feel as if she might survive without him. And what does he do? Turns up like a bad penny! What in God's name did she have to do to make good her escape? She'd fled the damned country, hadn't she? Worked menial jobs in far-flung harbors around the world for months before daring to return to the mainland. Even then, she'd only stayed because this job had been in such a remote corner of the country. Cloud had always said he had no interest in any other state except the main city.

How had he found her? Had some wretched tourist from Gold Saucer recognized her and reported back to him? No, she decided. That wouldn't have been likely. People from the main city rarely holidayed in Costa Del Sol… They went to Gold Saucer, He'd found her the way men always found people… He'd hired some professional to hunt her down, to track her like some wretched criminal on the run. And now that she'd been found, he'd come himself to hound her into going back to him.

Well, she wouldn't! Never! Ever! If he wanted to, he would have to hog-tie her and drag her back. She would never voluntarily go back. Aeris had thought that her initial fear of seeing Cloud again would consume her, but that terror was rapidly fading to be replaced by a surge of emotions she never thought she could still possibly feel. She was angry of the power he still held over her. She was simply livid!

Her eyes glared daggers at him as the Zodiac pulled alongside. She didn't notice Zack glaring at her when she failed to take the rope and secure the boat to the lugger. All she saw was Cloud, staring back at her with a blank expression, as though he had absolutely no idea why she was scowling at him with such ill-concealed fury.

His lack of sensitivity only infuriated her further.

Zack finally communicated his own frustration with Aeris by throwing the rope into her hands. Reluctantly, she turned her attention to the job at hand, securing the boat to the side of the lugger. Her smile was stiff as she introduced herself, and then proceeded to help the party aboard, finding out in the process that the two couples were around their mid-twenties and obviously good friends, confiding in Aeris within seconds that they had all graduated recently and been travelling around for the past few weeks. The single woman was a modelesque creature, tall and lean with gorgeous dark hair and chocolaty sweet baby brown eyes.

"This is just too exciting!" she enthused, one hand fluttering up to her throat as she gazed around with seemingly enthralled eyes. "Watch your step," Aeris warned on sighting her high-heeled sandals. "The deck is smooth and can be slippery." "Don't you worry sweetie," she said smugly. "I won't fall. These shoes and I have gone everywhere together. They're like a part of me." Aeris could believe that as she watched the woman saunter in comfortably. Aeris slowly gathered her small spark of new found courage and turned to face Cloud. He rose from where he'd remained sitting at the back of the small craft, his handsome face now a perfect picture of puzzlement.

Did he think he was fooling her with that stupid expression? She knew why he'd come. To get her back! The almighty Cloud Strife could not be allowed to be seen to be a failure. His marriage could not possibly end in desertion, or even worse… Divorce.

Her temper raised another notch, so much that when Cloud took another step towards the front of the Zodiac to towards the Zephyr, she was ripe and ready for him. "Not you," she spat at him, jabbing her right index finger towards his chest. "You can just stay right there and let Zack take you back to the beach!!" He blinked while Zack simply gaped. Aeris was aware of the other guests gasping behind her. "Good God Aeris," Zack sputtered. "What's gotten into you?"

"I'll tell you what's going on. That person there," she ground out, injecting as much venom as she possibly could, pointing straight at Cloud's cold-blooded heart, "Isn't the innocent tourist he's pretending to be. He happens to be my ex-husband. He isn't here for a simple cruise. He's here to make trouble. Believe me when I tell you he's a sneaky, conniving conman and you can't believe a word out of his mouth!!" Zack gave him a darkly suspicious glance. "Is that true? Are you Aeris's ex-husband?"

"No."

Aeris laughed. "Okay, so you want to be literal! Legally, you _are_ still my husband I guess. But I walked out on our ghastly marriage six months ago, Zack, and haven't seen this mockery of a husband since that day. In my book, that makes him about as _EX_ as you can get."

"I'm not her husband either." The mockery said. Now it was Aeris's turn to gape. "Not my husband!" she finally snapped. "What kind of game are you playing Cloud? You can't get a divorce in this planet under twelve months, no matter how much money and connections you've got. I know. I asked." "I'm not your husband because I'm not Cloud. But I can understand your mistake. I'm Cloud's twin brother… Sky."

Aeris was speechless. But not for long. "Cloud doesn't have a twin brother," she argued. "He doesn't have a brother at all. Period! He's an only child." "Is that what he told you?" came the calm query.

"Yes!"

"What else?"

"What do you mean what _else_?"

"I mean… regarding his family."

"He doesn't have any family. His mother and father died some years back"

"Our father did. But I assure you our mother is alive and well and living in Nibelheim. I spoke to her only yesterday on the phone."

Aeris's mouth dropped open.

"Well, you did say you couldn't believe a word your husband said," Zack pointed out with merciless logic. "Yes, but… but…" Aeris frantic gaze scanned the man standing before her, raking him from head to toe to see if there was any visible evidence that this was not Cloud. Since he was dressed casually, in pale grey shorts and a navy and white striped top, she could see quite a bit of him. He looked leaner than Cloud, she finally conceded… And not quite as muscled. He looked a little younger too, blinking those large blue eyes – eyes which at the moment were staring at him with a most irritating composure, as though he was patiently waiting for the truth of his identity to sink in.

"I think you owe the man an apology Aeris," Zack grated out.

Aeris glanced up into the man's eyes, eyes which were identical to Cloud's. They met hers levelly and quite blandly. Despite that, something decidedly sexual curled in her stomach. Cloud had always been able to turn her on, just by looking at her. No way could another man – not even an identical twin – reproduce what Cloud could make her feel. Such a possibility was beyond belief. "I don't need to," she bit out, "because I know I'm right. This man is my husband, Cloud Strife, no matter what clever lies he trots out."

"Good grief Aeris!" Zack exclaimed exasperatedly. "Why on this planet would he say he's your husband's brother if he wasn't?" "I don't know." Unless it was to trick her into letting her guard down with him. Maybe he was plotting to kidnap her, or some equally appalling plan. She would put nothing past Cloud. She knew the real man now, knew what he was capable of. Where once she'd thought him wonderfully strong and decisive, she now knew he was cold-bloodedly ruthless. His veins ran cold with ice, not blood. His silver tongue spouted lies with superb ease. My God, when she thought of the thousands of times he'd told her he loved her! Every morning before he left for work. Every time he'd made love to her.

_Made love?_ She thought sneeringly. Such a description was a joke! Cloud had never made love to her. He'd seduced her... Manipulated her... Used her… Love had never come into the equation. Nausea swirled in her stomach at the renewal of this bitter realization. All lies… The man was a total lie. This crazy claim about a twin brother was a lie!! Hatred burned in her eyes as she glared up at him. "I'm not him," he reiterated, in a voice so unlike Cloud's that she was momentarily thrown. Suddenly, his eyes were not Cloud's either. They were soft and sad. Cloud had a wide range of expressions but soft and sad had never been a part of them.

Still… Faith in one's husband, and one's own judgment, once lost was not easily restored. Aeris hardened her heart against that treacherous weakness of hers to simply believe what she was told. "Do you honestly think you can fool me a second time?" She threw at him in her agony and fury. "You're Cloud and nothing and no one can convince me otherwise. So, I repeat, you either go back to that beach or I will. I'll swim if I have to!"

Zack sighed at his own frustration. "Aeris… You're paranoid. It's perfectly clear that this man is not your husband. Why won't you believe him?" "It's alright," the man said himself. "I fully understand the young lady's attitude, especially since she is unfortunate enough to be my brother's wife. Cloud is not a very nice person. He can be in fact, a bastard of the first order. But I repeat… Aeris, is it?... I am not Cloud. I'm nothing like him, except in looks, which is something I can do little about. I'm sorry if I have upset you. Truly sorry."

Aeris could only stare. An _apology_? Apologies were anathema to Cloud. He gave reasons for his actions. Sometimes excuses. But never apologies. Maybe… Just maybe… This person standing before her _wasn't _Cloud.

But only _maybe_. Aeris was not about to rush into believing anything anymore. Not where her husband was concerned. Her eyes remained hard on him… And skeptical. The man who claimed he wasn't her husband shrugged. "Perhaps you _should _take me back to the beach," he directed towards Zack. "I don't want to spoil the cruise for everyone else." "I don't see why I should," Zack replied. "If Aeris has a problem with your being on the cruise then she can be the one to go back to the beach. _I _believe that you're not her ex, even if she doesn't. No man would make up such a far-fetched lie over some female who obviously doesn't want a bar of him. It doesn't make any sense. Pity Aeris can't see that."

Aeris no longer knew what to think, even though she glared at Zack for speaking his mind, she knew her friend was right in a way. It didn't make much sense. She didn't really believe Cloud was out to kidnap her. Violence was not in his bag. He always used oral persuasion to get what he wanted. At worse, he appealed to an opponent's darker side to achieve his ends, playing up to their greed, or their love for power and position. She could not see how pretending to be his twin brother could possibly persuade her back to her marriage. What could Cloud hope to achieve with a deception which could only be short-lived, at best? She would eventually find out the truth.

"Perhaps if I might make a suggestion?"

Aeris whirled at the sound of the female voice, flushing as she realized the rest of the party had been standing around, witnessing – and possibly being entertained by – every embarrassing, humiliating word. The 'model' was especially wide eyed, obviously fascinated by the situation. It was one of the girlfriends who had spoken, however. Once everyone's eyes were on her, she went on. "I used to go to school with identical twins. There were the dead spit of each other, and liked to play awful pranks on everyone, swapping places all the time. But then one of them had an accident in the playground, running into another boy and chipping his front tooth. After that, we could always tell them apart. Perhaps… You have some physical defect that your brother didn't? That way, this lady could be sure. I can understand her reluctance to trust her word alone, if your brother is such a bad egg."

Her suggestion had clearly pole-axed him, his shoulders stiffening with instant tension. Aeris's stomach turned over when she saw that tell-tale muscle twitch along his jaw line. Cloud did that all the time when he was put into an awkward or unpalatable position. His jaw line had twitched just like that when she'd told him she was bored that morning at breakfast, and also at a dinner one night, when an agent had told him he would never pass on his client to Cloud.

That agent had not been in work since, when a sex scandal had erupted around him after that.

Her heart began to beat faster. So she'd been right all along. He _was _Cloud. Everyone was staring at him now, staring and waiting. An electric tension filled the air. "There must be _something_, man," Zack grated out.

"There is a scar," he said, startling Aeris, since Cloud did not have a single flaw on his beautiful male body. "But frankly, it's a bit embarrassing to show, given its position. I'll give you a look, Zack, and you can tell Aeris about it."

**And there goes Chapter 3!! I'm on a roll man! Thanks for your sweet reviews! As for how long this story will be… It's hard to say but I'm guessing around 15 chapters?**

**See y'all next week!**


	4. Cologne

Chapter 4: Cologne 

**Disclaimer:** Square Enix owns Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, its predecessor and all their characters.

"That's not good enough!" was Aeris's instant reaction, and everyone's eyes swung round to glare at her. Their obvious exasperation with her ongoing attitude met with a defiantly lifting chin. "Scars can be faked. I want to see it for myself. I think I have that right." Zack rolled his eyes, but the object of her skepticism merely shrugged. "If you insist…" "Geez, Aeris," Zack muttered. "If it was anyone else…" He shook his head at her. "Alright... Take him down below and set your stubborn mind at rest. But let that be an end to this bloody nonsense! Meanwhile, I'll start up the old girl. But don't be too long, madam. I want you up on deck once we're properly under way, complete with refreshment trays."

His utter faith in Sky's identity unnerved Aeris. Was she making a complete fool of herself here? Probably… But how could she blindly trust what this man was telling her? It had been her blind trust which had landed her in trouble in the first place. No… She had to see this scar for herself, and judge if it was real or not. Her heart began thudding behind her ribs as she made her way along the deck towards the cabin. She didn't look over her shoulder to check if she was being followed. She could hear him right behind her. She could even _smell_ him.

He smelt just like Cloud, she realized once they'd stepped into the confinements of the cabin. His body had that same scent which had always clung to Cloud's skin. Her husband used to shower morning and night, after which he'd spray this expensive cologne over his body. It was called Tempest Soul and had an exotic, musky fragrance. Aeris had grown to love that smell, had learnt to associate it with a naked Cloud sliding into the sheets beside her at night. It had primed her senses for what was to come without his having to say a word, or even touch her body. Every nerve-ending would be instantly on the alert, clamoring for release. No way could she mistake that scent for another. The odds of Cloud's long lost twin using the same exclusive and expensive cologne were so remote as to be not worth considering.

This new situation threw Aeris totally, because despite her other doubts she'd been half convinced by Zack's logical arguments. But the cologne was much more conclusive evidence than a twitching jaw muscle. That could have been put down to similar body language. Twins would be expected to have the same ticks from young.

But this… That scent… Could not be explained away so easily, neither could her ongoing physical reaction to the man. Why, even now, without looking at him, she felt her skin prickling, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. _It wasn't just his scent…_ She realized. It was his whole being… His sexual aura. She could feel her own flesh… That finely tuned Cloud-programmed flesh responding as it always had when he was near. Her pulse-rate picked up its beat. Her skin temperature rose… Shame and embarrassment forced her to pull herself together, then to turn and try to face him with apparent composure.

Aeris experienced a deep satisfaction in her surprising ability to appear in total control. Cloud wasn't the only one who could pretend, she realized. "Well?" she said coolly. "Let's see this scar. Or are you going to admit now, Cloud, that there isn't one?" He frowned at her for a moment, before lifting his hands abruptly to the waistband of his shorts. When he pulled open the securing stud and shot down the zipper, Aeris gulped.

Just who was calling whose bluff here?

"Don't say I didn't warn you…" he said. Aeris's throat thickened when he dropped his short to his ankles, lifted his T-shirt, and then yanked the narrow band of his white underpants downwards. Her gasp reverberated with shock. But not the shock she'd feared. He didn't expose himself. Not quite. What he did expose, however, was the largest, nastiest scar she'd ever seen. It zigzagged its ugly way from his right hip down across his lower abdomen, ending in his groin: a lightning-strike of stark horror against his deeply tanned skin. It was obviously not faked, or new. New scars were red, or pink, or even purple… Not white. Sky was also tanned all over. Cloud had never had the time for such frivolities as an all-over tan. "Touch it," he ordered curtly. "I think you'll find it's real enough." Aeris shrank from doing any such thing. "Go on," he insisted. "I want you to be sure."

Aeris swallowed before reaching out with a tentative, trembling hand. It wasn't revulsion which made her hesitant, but a fear of touching him… Anywhere. Her fingertip quivered as it made tentative contact with the puckered skin. When he flinched at her touch, her hand immediately dropped away, her eyes jerking up to his. "H… How did it happen?" she asked, appalled by her breathless state, plus the wild hammering of her heart. "A bike accident some time back," came the curt reply. He bent abruptly and dragged his shorts back up to his waist. "A truck smashed into me at an intersection."

Aeris struggled with her feelings. Clearly the man standing before her _wasn't_ Cloud, yet he could still stir her feelings. Which said what of her feelings for her husband? Not much except that they must be very superficial and shallow. Easily transferred from one twin to another. She shook her head in confusion. That didn't feel right, didn't feel right at all. She'd loved Cloud. She still loved him. She was sure of it.

"You still don't believe me?"

She frowned up her husband's twin brother, and found excuses for his being able to shake her foundation. He _did_ carry identical genes to Cloud, after all. When she looked at him, her brain automatically registered her husband's face and body. It didn't mean anything. It was simply an instinctive response which would fade in a few minutes.

"No, I do believe you. It's just hard, that's all. I had no idea Cloud had a brother, let alone a twin. I'm still a bit shell-shocked. You have no idea how much you look like him." "Of yes I have," he said ruefully as he snapped the waistband of his shorts shut and pulled his T-shirt back down. "But looks are only skin-deep, Aeris… Don't judge me on them." "I… I'll try not to," she said, though she could not help but stare. Slightly thinner than Cloud he might be, but he was still extremely attractive to her. "That's good, because I'd like to speak to you further at some later date. I have to admit to being more than curious about you and my brother. For now, perhaps you'd better get back to doing your job before your boss loses his cool."

All of a sudden the man himself popped his head through the cabin door, his long black spikes poking around his bare shoulders. "You two sorted everything out?" "Perfectly," Sky answered for them both, in the same decisive way Cloud had when dealing with people. Aeris groaned silently. She supposed there were going to be a lot of disturbing similarities about the two brothers. She was just as curious about Sky as he was about her, but the thought of spending more time with him sent her into a spin.

"In that case, shake a leg with the food and drinks Aeris," Zack advised brusquely. "Perhaps Sky can help you." "Yes, I'd like that," he agreed, before Aeris could say a word. "As long as my newly found sister-in-law doesn't mind." He added with a sudden smile quite blowing Aeris away. Smiling, he was as devastatingly handsome and charming as Cloud has been. "She won't if she knows what's good for her," Zack grated out before abruptly disappearing. "You don't mind do you?" Sky asked, his eyes searching hers. "No… Not really… It's just that…"

"That what?"

_That I can't look at you without wanting to touch you again… _

_Without wanting you…_

Aeris tried to keep the shock from showing on her face. It was only natural, she reasoned in desperation. He looked so much like Cloud… Smelt like him… Spoke like him… It was perfectly but _perversely_ natural that her body craved this man who so resembled the husband she loved so much… But, dear God, it was difficult to cope with. "I… I get upset when I look at you," she said quite truthfully. His blue eyes clouded. "You hate Cloud that much?"

"Yes," she said. It was the truth too. She loved him_ and_ hated him.

""I see," he said thoughtfully. "I'm sorry. The last thing I want is to upset you. But, other than my jumping overboard, I'm afraid you're condemned to look at me occasionally. Under those circumstances, it is better I help you serve, don't you think? That way I'll be standing beside you and not in front of you." She shook her head, a small wry smile playing on her lips. "I see you and your brother are more alike than in looks alone. You both have the gift of gab. Cloud could talk his way out of the gallows if need be." Sky's smile was equally wry. "They don't hang people these days, though I suppose if they did, you wouldn't object to Cloud meeting his maker that way."

"Hanging is too good for him," Aeris said bitterly. "But let's not talk about Cloud. We have work to do. This way…" She whirled and walked over to the two narrow wooden steps which led down to the gallery. "Watch your head!" she threw over her shoulder as an afterthought, just as Sky's forehead made contact with the overhead beam with a loud clunk. The sympathetic female in Aeris responded to the sickening clunk, and before she could think better of it she'd swung round to offer succor and comfort, her soft hands finding the hard wall of his chest. "Are… are you alright?" she asked shakily, her eyes lifting to his.

"I guess I'll survive." He stopped rubbing the reddening lump to look down, first at where she was touching him, then right into her eyes. She should have stepped back straight away. She realized that afterwards. But she didn't… She stayed right where she was, her palms flat against his solid warmth, her moss green eyes wallowing in his ocean blue… How many moments passed with their standing there like that? Aeris had no idea. In hindsight, it felt like an eternity, but it was probably only a couple of seconds before he took hold of her trespassing hands and lifted them away from his chest. "Some ice might be a good idea." He said.

"Yes, yes, of course.' She said, embarrassment making her clumsy as she whirled away from him and knocked into the nearest bench, rattling the tray of clean but empty glasses which lay in waiting to be filled. Her muttered cuss was less than lady-like. Her hands shot up to clasp the edge of the damn thing in an attempt to steady the glasses, and her own stupidly racing heart.

"Forget the ice.' Sky said sharply from where he was standing just behind her. "I'm fine… Really… Look, I think I'd better go up on deck with the others and leave you to do this alone. I can see my presence upsets you. I'll tell Zack I was getting in your way and that you'll be making an appearance shortly." She spun round to protest, but he was already on his way, ducking his head as he took the steps two at a time and disappeared from sight. It was just as well, she realized after her initial dismay. He _did_ upset her, though perhaps as he imagined he did. He could never understand what just looking at him did to her… Let alone touching him. When her hands had lain against his beating heart, she'd been overwhelmed with a deep yearning to lay her head there, as she had done with Cloud a thousand times.

Oh, how safe she'd once felt in her husband's arms... And how loved… She would have given anything to feel that again, had been impelled, for one mad glorious moment, to recapture the experience with Sky, by closing his eyes and pretending he was Cloud.

It would have been so easy.

Or would it?

Sky gave no indication that he would have tolerated her doing any such thing... Just the opposite in fact…

Not by look or action did he show any attraction towards her. Just because _she_ was unconsciously attracted to her husband's twin it didn't mean that the reverse held true, although she _had_ read somewhere that identical twins tended to be drawn to the same physical types. There had been cases of such twins, separated at birth, who, when they were reunited as adults, found they had chosen similar professions, hobbies _and_ wives. Sky however, showed no such inclination. Aeris knew when a man fancied her. It was in their eyes and their actions. She'd had plenty of experience in the last six months, recognizing the signs and warding off a lot of unwanted attention and passes.

Her marriage to Cloud had changed her somehow when it came to her ability to attract the opposite sex. When before she had the occasional admirer, men now went after her in herds and flocks. She wasn't sure why... She didn't think she looked any different from before. And she certainly made no attempts to attract their attention with her appearance. No make-up was the order of the day… Her hair was worn long and tied up in a long braid that cascaded to her buttocks. Her clothing consisted mainly of jeans or shorts and loose tops. Yet still she had to tolerate male ogling and constant, shameless come-ons.

It seemed her brother in law, however, was not going to represent a problem in that department.

Which was a relief to Aeris, now that she was over that one mad impulse… God, yes!! Imagine what might have happened if Sky _had_ been attracted to her. She would have been put in a terrible position, trying to resist what she realized could only be an illusion. For it wasn't Sky she was actually responding to, was it? It was Cloud… His memory… His influence… His power, which was more far-reaching than even Aeris could ever have imagined, coming to her clear across the continent in the guise of another man.

Yes… It was to be thanked that Sky didn't see her that way…

For Gaia alone knew what might happen if he did….

**Yoo-hoo! I'm back again… Apologies the whole introduction (yes, that was only the introduction) took so long, my train of thought runs very slow see? LOL! However, I promise things will take a definite change in the next few chapters! Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far.**

**See you guys next week!**


	5. Beneath The Sky

Chapter 5: Beneath The Sky

**Disclaimer:** Square Enix owns Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, its predecessor and all their characters.

Taking a deep breath, Aeris picked up the tray of drinks and carried it carefully out on deck. She turned automatically towards the back of the boat where everyone usually grouped, possibly because there was more room, but mostly because that was where Zack stood at the wheel, answering their questions and generally entertaining all and sundry with tales of his days in SOLDIER and his journey from that to being the captain of the Zephyr.

"Hey babe…" Zack greeted as she approached. "Glad you and Sky got things sorted out… So now everyone can now be served and entertained by our beautiful Aeris, don't you think Sky?" Sky, who'd been sitting a little aside from the others and staring out at the horizon, glanced around. "Assuredly. You're a lucky man Zack, to be surrounded by such beauty on a daily basis." He said and while his hand waved out to where the sun was sinking low in the sky and casting its golden glow over the water, his eyes were looking straight at Aeris.

Aeris was taken aback, then quite flustered, worried now that she might have been mistaken in her earlier assessment about Sky not finding her attractive. Yet it wasn't anything like lust she saw in his eyes. It was something else… But what? Concern? Curiosity? Surely not caring… How could he care about her when he'd only just met her? She tried not to color under his regard, thankful for the sea breeze which was helping cool her suddenly hot skin. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, when she opened her eyes, Aeris had finally managed to break away from Sky's strangely hypnotic gaze and offer the tray around. By the time she got to Sky, she was totally in control again, only to have that illusion shattered the moment he spoke.

"When can we meet privately?" he said, his eyes searing into hers like lasers. Damn, she wished he didn't have Cloud's eyes, even if they did hold a much softer expression.

"Well I… I don't know exactly…"

"Tonight? After the cruise?" he suggested while she waffled. The imminency and potential intimacy of such a meeting brought panic. "No, no I can't make it tonight," she said swiftly, though of course she could. "Why not?" He asked as he took one of the glasses of soft drink. Cloud would have taken the champagne, came Aeris's automatic thought. He liked all things expensive. He liked to work hard, drink hard, play hard. There were no soft options for Sky's brother. No soft anything.

His brother, she conceded, was a different style of man entirely. More relaxed. Less driven. Yet for all that still very, very attractive to her.

For the first time she wondered what Cloud would do if he knew she had met up with his estranged twin brother. Just thinking about such a possibility turned her stomach. Cloud had been very possessive of her… And quite jealous at times. He'd hated other men admiring her, or looking at her too much. She just knew he would hate her having anything to do with Sky. "I'm busy tonight," she replied briskly. "How about lunchtime tomorrow? I could meet you around her somewhere." Lunch was much better… And much safer. Night-time was for lovers…

"Alright. Time and place?"

"Where are you staying?'

"The Inn."

Not far from her place actually. She could walk there without any trouble. "Alright." She said. "I'll meet you outside the reception at noon. We could walk down town from there."

"I have a bike."

"Whatever. I best get to getting the food or Zack might throw me overboard."

"I doubt it," she heard Sky mutter as she walked away. Aeris frowned over the dry remark as she made her way back to the gallery. Did Sky actually think she and Zack were a couple? He was half right, she supposed. It also wasn't the first time… _Considering our history… _And considering that she often stayed with Zack on the Zephyr at night. Little did they know that those were the nights she would spend crying her eyes out to Zack over her failed excuse of a marriage… Nonetheless, the idea that she had a boyfriend suited her just fine and gave her protection from all men which trailed through the place ad infinitum.

But for some reason, it bothered Aeris that Sky might think she and Zack were lovers... Till she quickly reasoned that such a situation might be for all the best as well. The last thing she needed was to complicate things with Cloud's twin brother. Hadn't she made enough of a mess of her life so far? She would meet Sky for one simple lunch, answer his questions, ask a few of her own, and then have nothing more to do with him. Exhaling a deep, shuddering breath, Aeris took the food out of the fridge and placed it on the bench before peeling off the plastic wraps. She picked up the first plate and balanced it on her left hand. It was wide and round and held a selection of crackers covered in various seafood delicacies. She then picked up the second server, which catered for people with simpler tastes. Carrot and celery sticks, a dip, cheese and salami.

The sun was near to setting when she emerged back on deck, its golden hue having deepened to that wonderfully rich orange. It would deepen even further shortly, sometimes going blood red before sinking down into the horizon. The great thing about this place… Aeris never tired of watching the sunsets over Costa Del Sol. The two inseparable couples had gravitated toward the western side of the boat to get the best view, she noted. The model, however, clung to her ex-boyfriend's side, gushing and gammering. Sunsets had no interests for women like her.

Sky had wandered up to the front of the boat and was leaning against the railing, looking remote and mysterious. Which he was, in a manner of speaking. Where had he come from? Aeris wondered. What did he do for a living? Why was he here? Of all places on this planet? Fate, she decided, had indeed been fickle to bring Cloud's identical twin to the same spot his ex-wife had chosen as sanctuary.

If Aeris was honest, there was a lingering doubt in her mind over this last strange coincidence. Okay, she finally believed he wasn't Cloud, but there was still something about all this that bothered her greatly, aside from the unfortunate fact he reminded her so much of her husband. Sky didn't seem to notice her approach. He'd stopped looking at the sunset and was leaning right over the railing and peering intently down to where the bow of the boat was cleaving through the water. There was quite a breeze up and the old lugger was really moving along, not like the previous evening, when they had been so becalmed that Zack had _had_ to start the engine.

"Something to eat Sky?" She asked.

"Dolphins," he said by way of an answer and continued to stare downwards, clearly entranced by the sight of several of the beautiful creatures skimming slickly through the water. Aeris rather admired his obvious and childlike pleasure. Watching dolphins was the kind of simple activity Cloud would have scorned as a waste of time. "They follow up the boat," she said. "Especially when we get some speed up. It's a game, I think, keeping up and leaping across the bow with inches to spare." "A bit like a bike racing a train," he said and glanced up, his face quite flushed with excitement. Or perhaps it was the light of the sunset on his golden skin. Whatever the case, it looked wonderful on him.

She had to look away, afraid again of the feelings coursing through her. How could she want him like this? It felt like a betrayal of her love for his brother. Once she had herself under control again, her eyes moved slowly back to face him, a plastic smile on her mouth. "Are you a seafood man, or a cheese and dip man?" she asked as she held both trays out for his perusal. "Don't you know?" he smiled.

She just stared.

"My brother and I have similar tastes," he elaborated as he selected one of the crab-topped crackers. "In just about everything actually." He added and then popped the cracker into his mouth.

Aeris's eyes flew to his till she realized he wasn't coming on to her, simply stating a fact. If he'd been referring to his taste in women – specifically _her_ – then it certainly didn't show in his face, which remained totally devoid of anything smacking of desire. Aeris's relief wasn't total however. She seemed to have enough desire for both of them. How her heart had leapt in that second when she'd thought he was interested in her. It was clear she'd be in deep, deep trouble if Sky ever made a pass at her. How could she resist him? She'd never been able to resist his brother. And he was his brother's mirror image.

She just stood there for a moment, her head and stomach whirling. "Is something wrong, Aeris?" Sky asked gently. "No, no, not at all," she denied, finding a breezy smile from somewhere. "I was just thinking. But I'd better get back to the others. Here. Take another cracker before I go."

He did, and she hurried back to Zack and company.

The boat had turned and was cruising back to their starting point by the time Sky rejoined the rest of the party. Zack was regaling everyone with another of his horror stories of the old days in SOLDIER. Aeris had just emerged from the cabin with fresh drinks and was standing not far from Zack, shaking her head at his somewhat exaggerated story-telling. "Hey baby!" He greeted, reaching out to curl an arm around Aeris's waist, drawing her to his side. "She really kicked up a storm for a while there with you Sky didn't she? Still, that brother of yours must be a real jerk if he couldn't appreciate someone as wonderful as Aeris. She's a real sweetie, aren't you darling?' He said and pulled her face down to his gently and kissing her right on her mouth.

Aeris tried not to look too startled or spill the remaining drinks, because she had a good idea of what was going on. The model had proved too much, even for a wild boy like Zack, and he wanted out. It wasn't the first time he'd subtly – and this time not so subtly – used Aeris to deflect a female. From the silky pout on the model's scarlet-glossed lips, his message was getting through.

Aeris slid her eyes in Sky's direction to see what_ he_ thought of the situation. His expression was totally unreadable, but his knuckles showed white where his hand gripped the bulkhead. "Perhaps I should warn you." Came his dry remark, "that my brother would not take too kindly to any man who dared put a hand on his wife." Zack laughed. "Really? Then it's just as well he's not here isn't it?" he said, tightening his hold on Aeris's waist. Aeris smiled but threw him a reproachful look nonetheless. "I wouldn't make jokes about my husband Zack. He's a very rich, very powerful and ruthless man."

"Not over here, he isn't." Zack scoffed.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Aeris muttered, unease returning at this discussion about Cloud. Money, she knew, had few boundaries and much leverage. "He's certainly not a man to be underestimated." Sky warned his eyes on Aeris not Zack. Her chin shot up. "I don't underestimate him, believe me. Why do you think I'm here, hiding?" Sky frowned. "Are you saying that you're afraid of him?"

"He's not a man to be crossed."

"Cloud might be many things, but he would never be violent. Never!" Although she agreed with him on that score, Aeris was still irritated by Sky's vehement defense of his brother. "You seem very sure of that. Yet, how many years has it been since you've last seen or spoken to him?" "We parted company when we were thirteen. But I've followed his career closely ever since. Admittedly, he does have a ruthless streak with his business enemies, but he confines his attack to the verbal, never the physical. And I gather he has done some good with his money over the years. Gives a lot to orphanages." "Huh!" Aeris scorned. "Don't believe everything you read in the newspapers. Cloud is a clever manipulator of the media. Fact is, he's a gifted manipulator all around." She added bitterly. "But I'm sure everyone doesn't want their evening spoilt with talk of my clever conman of a husband. Now does anyone else want another drink?"

Aeris busied herself with the hostessing part of her job for the next ten minutes before excusing herself and escaping down below. Once there, she started washing up, sighing repeatedly in an effort to relax the tension between her shoulders.

Still, it was a relief to be away from Sky's probing eyes. He really had no idea about the man Cloud was these days. She doubted he fully understood the extent of his brother's cold-blooded ways. Neither could he ever appreciate why she was so afraid of him. Aeris didn't dare to tell him the truth: that Cloud's sexual power over her was so strong it carried a total corruption to his will, so strong that his identical twin could tap into that power as easily if he ever wanted to.

Aeris shuddered at the thought.

"Zack said you'd point me to the bathroom."

Aeris spun round from the sink to find Sky less than a meter behind her. How long had he been standing there? Had he been watching her, listening to her moan and groan? His physical presence in the cramped gallery unnerved her unbearably. Then there was that tantalizing scent wafting from his skin again, plus an even more overpowering awareness of his very male body. She hated looking up into his handsome and seeing Cloud looking back at her.

"It's down there." She said curtly, pointing towards some narrow ladder-like steps in the far corner. "The second door to the left, not the first one. That's Zack's cabin. You'll have to watch your head again. And your step."

"Right." She watched him go, ducking his head and moving carefully.

She contemplated fleeing before his return but decided that was just silly, so she returned to washing up and had actually finished it by the time he reappeared, looking pale and drawn. Aeris was so used to boats that it rarely occurred to her that anyone might actually get seasick. She'd thought he simply wanted to use the toilet. "Goodness, you don't look at all well." She said, moving to sympathy by his wretched expression. "But not to worry. You'll be off the boat in a few minutes." He stared hard at her as though he didn't know what he was talking about. But then he seemed to regather his wits. "I'm all right." He said brusquely, though he didn't look it. "Look, if you don't want to meet me tomorrow then just say so."

She was taken aback by his abruptness, till she conceded it was probably because he wasn't feeling well. "It's not that I don't want to, Sky." She replied carefully. "It's just that… that…"

"That what, for pity's sake?" He snapped. "You want to keep on hiding indefinitely, do you? Or is it that you've found yourself a new life on this boat with Zack and you don't even want to talk or think about the fact you have a husband who's probably worried sick about you?"

"The only thing Cloud would be worried about." She snapped back. "Is his precious ego! And why are you defending him? You haven't had anything to do with him for 8 years! A brother doesn't cut his twin out of his life like that without good cause. What did he do to you Sky? Cheat you out of an inheritance? Blame you for something _he_ did? Sleep with your girlfriend?"

Sky stared at her for several tense seconds. And then his shoulders sagged. "I had no idea." He said wearily.

"No idea about what?"

His eyes lifted and they were incredibly sad. "That Cloud would hurt anyone as much as he obviously hurt you. I'm so sorry Aeris. Believe it or not, he was a pretty decent guy once. I rather admired him. We came to a parting when Dad died. He blamed our mother, you see. And it changed him dramatically."

"Don't keep defending him," she groaned. "There _is_ no defense. I don't want to_ hear_ any defense. You have no idea what he did to me. He lied to me, told me he loved me and married me under false pretences. He played me for a fool, taking all the love I had to give and giving me nothing in return but lies. I was no more to him than another successful business venture. I wasn't a human being with feelings. I was a possession, a… a project!"

He nodded. "You're right. There is no defense for such behaviour. But still, don't you think you would have been better off staying and telling him where he'd gone wrong, asking him for a divorce then and there?"

"I couldn't stay." She rasped. "You don't understand. I couldn't stay…" She hugged herself as she shuddered, her gaze dropping to the floor. His finger under her chin was gentle, yet very, very male. With excruciating slowness he tipped her face upwards till their eyes met. "You're right." He said bewilderment in his voice. "I don't understand. If you weren't afraid of his hurting you in any way physically, then why run away? Why not face him with his shortcomings? That would seem the logical thing to do."

Logic? When had logic had anything to do with her responses to Cloud? From the moment he'd swept into her life she'd been under his spell. Impossible to tell Sky it had been herself she'd been afraid of, that pathetically weak creature who had lain beneath her treacherous husband in mindless ecstasy even after finding out the awful truth about him, that pathetically weak creature who even now was so aroused by her husband's identical twin touching her that it was unbearable… Only a fingertip, yet it made her long for his arms to go around her, to pull her to him, kiss her, caress her, take her to that place where only Cloud could take her.

Or so she had once imagined. Perverse it might be, but she knew Sky would take her there too, for her body didn't seem to know the difference between the two men. Cloud… Sky… They were the same in her eyes _and_ in her sexual responses to them. She groaned with relief when Sky's hand dropped away.

"What exactly are you hiding from Aeris?" He demanded to know, clearly puzzled. "It has to be something you fear about Cloud. Tell me what it is."

"I can't." She said, hugging herself tightly in defense of her slowly disintegrating self.

"Why not?"

"You wouldn't understand. You don't know him like I do."

"No." He admitted. "That's true. But I know him better than you realize. He's my other half."

"He's horrible…" She whispered and shut her eyes against the rush of memory. But in the darkness she could still feel his mouth covering hers, his hands caressing her, his flesh fusing with hers.

She shuddered violently.

Her eyes flew open when Sky started unpeeling her hands from where they were clasping her sides. "No don't!!" She cried. "Don't touch me… I don't want you to touch me…"

For a moment he looked as if she'd struck him.

"I'm sorry." She said straight away. "It's not you… Please understand that. When I react badly, it's not you."

"Alright… I'll try to remember that."

"Look, I have to go." She told him abruptly. "Zack will need me on deck to let down the sails."

"Very well. But we're going to talk a lot more about this, Aeris. Tomorrow…"

**And here we go….**

**See you guys again next week!**


	6. Aeris's Regrets

Chapter 6: Aeris's Regrets

**Disclaimer:** Square Enix owns Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, its predecessor and all their characters.

The temperature hovered between comfortably warm and blazing hot, as it did most days in Costa del Sol all year round. The sea breezes wouldn't spring up until later in the afternoon. Aeris had been in a quandary all morning over what to wear for her lunch date with Sky. Should she make an effort to look nice, or just throw on shorts and a T-shirt?

She had calmed down somewhat overnight, well aware that she had overreacted to Sky's sudden appearance in her life and his appearance in general. _Of course_ she would find him physically attractive! Sky was the dead spit of the man she was mad about, who could reduce her to a mush with a mere glance. But he _wasn't_ Cloud and she just had to keep reminding herself of that. If she still felt tinges of desire when she looked at him today then that was only to be expected.

Thankfully, Sky had shown no signs whatsoever of being smitten in any way with her. He hadn't leered or ogled, hadn't done a single darned thing to create any unease in her in the sexual sense. In view of all these logical reasonings, Aeris decided in the end not to dress _too_ down for the occasion, which meant she allowed herself a skirt and lipstick, instead of her usual layered clothes and unpainted mouth. The skirt was a floral wraparound number, hand painted flowers in the palest of pinks against a creamy milk colored background. The soft folds of fabric reached mid calf, the lipstick a pink that matched most of the flowers. She did run into a bit of trouble selecting a right top to go with the skirt though. After much contemplation, she finally settled for a pink ribbed midriff that emphasized her curves but left her middle bare. Aeris glared at it for a while, than shrugged philosophically. You couldn't have everything, and she supposed a bare middle would be far less provocative than a bikini top with bare everything except the nipples.

As she wound her long hair half up in a simple French braid, she vaguely remembered the sophisticated and elegant hairstyles Cloud had steered her into soon after their marriage… And like a fool she had listened and done his every bidding in every of his words, like the perfect puppet wife he had wanted her to be. Cloud didn't know it, but she would have lived happily with him in a hovel. And been happy…

If only he had loved her…

Aeris sighed then shook herself. This wasn't achieving anything, this maudlin thinking. One day soon she'd be over Cloud, never to be tormented again by thoughts of 'what if' or 'what might have been'. But not today, she accepted with a weary sense of resignation. Today she had to meet with Sky a second time and be reminded of her husband all over again.

Finally, she was ready, a resurgence of nerves claiming her as she left her rented apartment and turned for the short walk down to the inn where Sky was staying. There was curiosity along with her nerves, however. Sky might want to ask her about her marriage to Cloud, but she had questions of her own. Aeris decided that one of her first questions would be to ask him, along with what he was doing here in Costa del Sol, a coincidence which still niggled her a little.

A ten minute stroll brought her to the circular driveway which led round to a door marked 'Reception'. There was an outdoor staircase to the left of this door which led up to the second-floor apartments. A long wooden seat rested against the wall to the right. Aeris settled herself on the seat to await Sky's arrival. She was five minutes early, as was her usual habit. This had amused Cloud greatly during their marriage. He had always been late. In hindsight, she saw this as another sign of his heartless arrogance; his lack of real caring of other people's feelings.

Sky breezed down the outdoor staircase with two minutes to spare, looking coolly handsome in casual jeans and a thin, comfortable looking white shirt. Stylish sunglasses masked his eyes.

_A blessing_, Aeris thought, in view of his other attractions. The thought also appealed that she could not see him looking at her in any way, either at her body or into her eyes. She rose and smiled up at him. "You're very punctual." She said.

"So are you."

"I only live just down the road."

His forehead puckered into a frown. "But I thought you lived on board the boat?"

"I do stay on board sometimes." She said, quite truthfully. "When Zack asks me to."

"I see," he said rather drily.

But he didn't at all, Aeris conceded. He thought that she and Zack were lovers. She'd let him think that the previous evening, had used the misconception in much the same way Zack had. An unnecessary precaution really… The attraction and tension had all been on _her_ side, not Sky's.

Now, Aeris gave the situation some more thought and accepted that she didn't want Sky to go on believing she had moved into another man's bed so soon after her husband's, especially while she was still legally married to him. She had condemned Cloud for his lies. She would not lie to his brother. "Zack is not my lover... Well, he used to be many years ago…" She said bluntly. "That little scenario out there on the deck last night was for that model's benefit."

Sky frowned his puzzlement. "I don't understand."

"As you probably can tell, Zack is extremely attractive to a great deal of women." She explained. "However, as you probably _can't_ tell, he's not one that plays around when it comes to relationships. He may seem to fit the bill of a stereotypical playboy, however he's anything but. So… In order to throw them off…"

"He uses you." Sky finished. "That's not very above board, Aeris." He added, the beginnings of a smile on his mouth. Aeris appreciated his not making a big deal of her misleading him, and shrugged lightly. "It may seem shady but he really is trying not to hurt as many girls as he can. Of course…" She had to laugh at this second thought. "The boat isn't helping as much as he initially thought it would. It completely backfired."

"Let me guess…. Now EVERY girl wants to have a good time on the Zephyr."

"Exactly… You'd be surprised how many."

"But not you…?"

"Hmmm… Not anymore… But..." She said thoughtfully. She couldn't help thinking how she would have loved spending a night on board the Zephyr with Cloud when they'd first been married and seemingly so in love. What a honeymoon spot it would have made, much better than the high class hotels he'd taken her all over the world. They could have lain together under the stars, soft breezes playing over their naked bodies, the gentle rocking water a rhythmic backdrop to their lovemaking.

"With anyone else?" Sky asked, speculation in his voice. "Anyone else?" she repeated her mind still fuzzy as if it was jerked out of the lovely, yet distressing dream. "Is there another man in your life now?" Sky asked. "Someone you spend romantic nights with?"

"No." She replied quickly, her voice sharp.

"No one?" He persisted, skepticism in the question. "In six months?"

"I doubt there'll be anyone in six years! I loved Cloud very much… With all my heart and all my soul… He shattered me with his betrayal of that love."

"You hate him now, don't you?"

She gritted her teeth as she ground out her reply. "I _despise _him."

"I see…"

"I doubt you do, Sky…" She bit out. "You know nothing of my marriage. Or me."

"Then why don't you tell me all about both?" He said in a soothingly, sympathetic voice. "Come on." He nodded his head across the road to where a large, slick, heavy looking motorcycle was parked under the shade of a tree. "My ride awaits. Let's go get ourselves a cool drink and some food. But I'll have to rely on you to guide me somewhere where the food is decent. I don't know Costa del Sol too well yet as you probably already know… I only arrived yesterday."

"And you came out on our cruise the very first night? She asked as they crossed the road. He shrugged his broad shoulders and passed her a helmet. "I didn't want to waste any time."

Aeris nodded and swung her long legs over the vehicle, positioned herself behind Sky and held onto his broad back so she wouldn't fall off. Once she did that, she was assailed by that musky scent, the one which reminded her so forcibly of Cloud. Every pore and nerve-ending in her body sprang to attention again. Another of those disquieting niggles about Sky's true identity resurfaced.

This time she could not remain quiet.

"Sky." She said abruptly.

Her tone must have communicated something, for his head jerked up from where he'd been bending to start up the engine. "What is it?"

"I… That cologne you wear…"

She could almost see him frown beneath his own helmet. "What about it?"

'It… It's the same as the one Cloud uses.'

All of a sudden she wished she could see beyond the tinted visor of his helmet. She would have liked to see the expression in those blue eyes. He tensed visibly. 'What are you saying? That you might think I might be Cloud?"

"I don't know what I'm saying."

"Look… I've been using that same cologne for years. Obviously, so has Cloud. Why is that such a problem?"

"It's very expensive." Aeris pointed out.

"I'm well aware of that. Our mother gave us some on our thirteenth birthday and I guess we both got hooked. Once you get used to the best, it's hard to go back to cheaper varieties. Still, if it bothers you, I'll stop using it."

"Would you mind?"

"No. But it won't change the way I look, Aeris. I'll still _look_ the same as Cloud."

"I realize that. But there's something about your smelling the same which I find… Upsetting." She had almost said arousing. Had very definitely thought it. She wasn't handling the familiar fragrance any better than she had the previous night. "In that case, I definitely won't wear it anymore." Sky pronounced firmly. "I'll buy some new stuff later this very afternoon." At that, she sighed, feeling reassured about his identity once more but no less curious over Sky, the man.

"I presume you're here in Costa del Sol on holiday?" She asked.

"Uh-huh."

"Why here?"

He shrugged. "I was told it was a great place to get away from it all. I've been working too hard for too long… Too many years. I needed a break, and the time to reassess my life." So both the brothers were workaholics, to a degree, Aeris mused. But at least Sky realized it before it was too late.

"What is it you do Sky?"

"I'm an architect."

Yes, that fitted, she thought. A creative and well-thought-of profession. Not as high profile or as gung-ho as being the CEO of a talent agency, but Aeris had no doubt that Sky was a winner in his own field. He had that aura of confidence and decisiveness which went with success. But he would be more of a quiet achiever, whereas Cloud wanted the world to know of _his_ success. Both brothers built and molded things. But Sky would care about the style of the building he created and the people who lived there. Cloud's focus had always been on the almighty gil, she thought bitterly.

"Anything with my being an architect?" he asked as he maneuvered the bike smoothly out onto the road and headed towards the centre of town. "Not at all. I'm impressed. Do you work for a company, or have your own?"

"I have my own. I like to do things my way."

She nodded. "Yes. That's what I thought. You have that air about you."

"What air?"

"The air of being a boss."

"Ah…"

She wasn't sure if he was pleased by her saying that or not. "Where is your company located?' She asked. "Over here on this continent?"

"No… In Midgar."

"In Midgar??" She exclaimed, nearly falling off the motorcycle, shocked. "You've been in Midgar all this while??"

"Yes."

Aeris shook her head. "I'll never understand Cloud. How on this planet did he think he could keep you a secret indefinitely? Midgar's not that big. Frankly, I don't understand why he kept you a secret at all…"

"The Cloud you married has no time for things past, Aeris. _I'm_ his past."

Aeris sighed. Sky was so right. Cloud lived for the present, and for what he called 'progress'. He had often said the past was not worth thinking about. He never countenanced regrets or recriminations. He always went forward. He was the most pragmatic man, not indulging in sentiment or sentimentality at all. Except, of course, when it suited his purpose, she realized ruefully. He had not been above bringing her flowers, when he wanted to butter her up or smooth over something he might have done to upset her.

Not that he had transgressed often during the nine months of their seemingly idyllic marriage. A couple of times he'd left unexpectedly on business and had not telephoned till he was in the air and on his way. She had been rather put out by his presumption that she wouldn't mind, that she would understand that business sometimes came first. She had tried to, but probably hadn't been able to keep the dismay out of her voice. Each time he'd come home with his arms full of red roses and his pocket containing a very expensive piece of jewelry.

As a blushing and besotted new bride, she had accepted his gestures in good faith, moved by his assertions that he'd missed her like mad and missed her even more after their separation. No matter how irritated or put out she had been while he was away, it had never taken him long to wind himself around her heart… And around her body.

The memory sickened her now.

"Gil for your thoughts?"

Aeris's head whipped up to stare at the back of Sky's head. The intensity of her wide-eyed stare startled him even without him actually looking at her face.

"What is it? What did I say?"

"That… That thing about gil for your thoughts. That's what Cloud used to say to me… In exactly that same way…"

"Did he?"

She continued to stare at him, her head spinning as she struggled to ease that sudden awful fear that this wasn't some long-lost twin brother sitting there but Cloud himself!

She could feel the furrows forming on his forehead deepening. "Look Aeris, there's going to be lots of things that remind you of Cloud." He said, reading her mind quite accurately. "We're identical. I can't help that. But I'm not the man you married Aeris. I swear that to you on my mother's life."

His mother's life. That was a pretty strong vow. There was the scar too, _don't forget_, she reminded herself. Aeris sighed her relief. Great spirits of the planet, but she had been really rattled there for a moment. Her stomach still felt squeamish.

"Which way?" Sky asked, slowing as he approached an intersection.

"Turn right at the next street" She directed him. "Then second on the left. Park anywhere you can find a spot down that street."

The town centre of Costa del Sol was pretty basic, consisting of two parallel streets lined by an array of small shops. A new air-conditioned supermarket _had_ been built down in one far corner, and there_ was_ another shopping mall on the outskirts of town, but both had taken time to gain clientele, the locals not liking the change.

_And who could blame them?_ Aeris thought as she glanced around her. Costa del Sol had its own character and very individual charm, a mixture of tropics and a unique subculture, with palm trees, red dirt, sandy beaches and simple architecture all on its own. No tall buildings here. Nearly everything here was made of wood, sand and stone and hopefully cyclone proof.

Midgar's urban development community were beginning to move in, however, seeing gil signs with the increase in tourism. More land was being chopped into housing blocks and more roads were being curbed and guttered. Aeris could understand why the long-standing residents of Costa del Sol resented the changed. In twenty years time, the small town as they knew it would be unrecognizable.

Progress, she had decided, was not always in the interests of the community. Aeris was glad now that the church in Midgar still stood as it did. _It just wouldn't feel the same…_

"This place is beautiful." Sky remarked as he expertly slid his bike into an angled spot under a convenient tree. "Let's hope it stays that way… Will this do?" He asked as he tugged off his helmet and turned to throw his pillion a questioning glance.

They would have to walk a little way, but it would be nice to sit on a cool seat when it was time to head back…

"Perfect," Aeris praised and smiled at him.

"What's the smile for?"

"For being you."

"For being me?"

"Yes. For not looking around and seeing nothing but developmental dollar signs… You know, since you're an architect."

"I see…"

She guided him to a small sidewalk café which wasn't flash but served great fish and chips. And fantastic milkshakes.

Sky smiled when she told him what she wanted. "Order the same for me then," came his easygoing reply. "I'm game. Here's 1000 gil. That should more than cover it."

Aeris left him sitting at one of the outdoor tables as she went inside to order, thinking that this would never have happened with Cloud. For one thing, Cloud only ate at a la carte restaurants – even for lunch – and _he_ always ordered. She'd once been very impressed with his knowledge of wine and food. He could order from a Wutai menu like a native.

That type of thing no longer impressed her. It was shallow. Without any real value. The only qualities that impressed her in a man these days were honesty. And integrity.

She turned and glanced through the front window of the café at Sky, happily stretched out in a white plastic chair, his handsome head shaded by a garishly striped beach umbrella. Instinct told her that Sky had integrity. And honesty. On top of that, he had the same face and body which still enslaved her senses. She stared at him and felt that tell-tale quickening once more…

What a shame she hadn't met him first…

"Here you are miss," the man behind the counter said at last. "I've put it all on a tray for you."

"Thanks."

Sky sat forward as she carried the tray towards the table, taking his sunglasses off as he did so. Her gaze faltered when his gaze swept over her from her toes up. There was no denying that male admiration in his glittering blue eyes this time. They lingered momentarily on her bare midriff before lifting to her face.

Panic ripped through Aeris when she felt those eyes. She almost tripped on a rough bit of pavement when she started forward again, the malted milkshakes rocking ominously from side to side.

"Got them!" Sky said, jumping up and sweeping the tall glasses into safe hands.

Aeris laughed, though shakily. "You almost had chocolate milk in your lap then."

Without looking at him again, she balanced the tray on the edge of the table and set everything out quite efficiently and with no further mishap, swiftly unwrapping the cutlery which was wrapped in paper serviettes, putting out the salt, vinegar and sauce before finally placing the plates of fish and chips between the knives and forks.

"You did that very well," He complimented on sitting down in his place.

She handed him his change, then swung away to put the tray on a spare table.

"I've had plenty of practice serving up food.' She sat down and shook out her serviette. "Aside from my more recent activities, I also used to be a part time chef in Midgar and Kalm. I loved selling flowers, but I needed the extra gil."

"You must tell me about your life Aeris. _Before_ you met Cloud," he added drily.

She did, happy to find the distraction from the panic she'd been trying to damp down since Sky had looked at her the way he had. But dear heaven…

"Do you regret leaving the slums?" he asked when she'd finished telling him her life story, right up to her marriage.

"Every day… I know it may not seem like the most ideal place to live… But that was still a place I considered as my home. The place I grew up."

"Why didn't you go back there after you left Cloud?"

"I couldn't. Cloud would have found me."

Sky frowned. "This is the part I don't understand Aeris."

"No." She said grimly. "And I doubt you ever will. So don't ask me about it!"

He opened his mouth, then closed it again in a reluctant acceptance of her stance. "Let's move on to your marriage… Were you happy to begin with?"

"Very happy. I thought Cloud loved me. I was prepared to make sacrifices for that love."

"Sacrifices?" He asked in puzzled tones. "What kind of sacrifices? You would have had everything a woman desired, surely…"

Aeris could only shake her head at him. "Spoken like a true man. Do you honestly think that all a woman wants from a marriage is material things?"

"I would have thought they'd go a long way…"

"Then you're wrong. Oh, I won't deny a woman likes a certain degree of security, but that's more for the children she hopes to have. I gave up a lot to marry Cloud, more than I should have. I missed my life selling flowers in the slums terribly. Missed the church… Missed my friends… Missed my mother."

"Frankly, I'm not sure that even if I hadn't overheard Cloud saying those dreadful things I would have stayed happy with him. He never took the time to talk to me about his work, or to understand me. He brushed aside my very real complaint that I needed something worthwhile to do during the day, suggesting instead that I take a silly cooking class. What would I do with that, I ask you? He employed a cook who refused to let me in the kitchen door!"

"There are a lot of women who would envy that lifestyle Aeris," Sky pointed out.

"Then it's a pity Cloud didn't marry one!" she snapped.

"Perhaps he wanted you."

"Yes, of course he wanted me. He thought I was the perfect patsy. The perfect fool. I believed everything he told me."

"Are you sure everything he said to you was a lie?"

"Of course I'm sure. I heard him say so clear as a bell. He didn't love me. He never loved me. Yet, he told me so every single day, would whisper it when we made love…" She went on in strangled tones. "Especially when he… When I…"

Her voice broke before she could make the humiliating confession: that her husband had told her he loved her even as she came beneath him.

Sky looked appalled.

"I… I don't want to talk about him anymore." She choked out raggedly, her eyes shifting from Sky's shocked face to stare glazedly down the street.

Gradually her eyes focused on the people wandering up and down the pavement, her attention drawn to a scruffily-dressed man with a mobile phone to his ear, not too common a sight in these parts. Aeris frowned as she realized he looked vaguely familiar. The man turned momentarily to face her direction and she sucked in a sharp breath.

"No!!" She gasped aloud. "Cid!!"

**And there we go…. Apologies this was so late…. My laptop was involved in a routine check and was locked away from me for 3 weeks…. SOBS**

**But I hope I made up for all that with this long chapter… :**

**Thanks to all for your wonderful reviews!**

**Makes you wonder what's going to happen eh? LOL**

**See you guys again next week!**


	7. Taking Chances

Chapter 7: Taking Chances

**Disclaimer:** Square Enix owns Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, its predecessor and all their characters.

"Who?" Sky asked peering down the street.

But Cid had disappeared.

Aeris found she was shaking. Her fork clattered onto the near empty plate. "It was Cid." She choked out. "Cloud's personal pilot. He… he was watching me… I'm sure of it. Watching _us_!"

"What?" Sky was on his feet. "Where? Show me!"

"He's gone."

"He can't have gone far. Do you want to go after him? I'll go with you."

"Heavens no."

"Why not?"

She just shuddered uncontrollably. She felt ill to the bone.

"Aeris, for pity's sake, stop this." Sky said firmly. "He's just a man."

"Who? Cid? Or Cloud?"

"Both. Now are you absolutely sure it _was_ this Cid person?"

Was she? She'd only seen him for a couple of seconds. "No." she said wearily at last. "I guess I'm not absolutely sure."

"If Cloud were here, then he'd contact you wouldn't he?"

"Oh yes." She responded immediately. She knew Cloud… He was no coward. Not like his wife.

"Then that settles it. He's not here. You must have been mistaken about this Cid person. Understandably, given your obvious state of mind… You're very jumpy Aeris… I suppose I'm to blame for that."

"I'm a bit mixed up, that's for sure." She agreed in ragged tones.

Sky reached over the table and picked up her shaky hand. "You have to move on Aeris." He said softly as he stroked the back of her hand with gentle fingertips. "You have to forget Cloud."

She didn't react too badly to his touch this time, accepting his tactile comfort without panicking, or being swamped with dark desires. She was too distraught for such tempestuous feelings. Seeing Cid – or thinking she had – had left her feeling disorientated and very vulnerable.

Her eyes lifted to Sky's and for once she didn't see Cloud, but a man with a face full of concern and caring.

"I'd like to forget him." Aeris said unhappily. "_Believe_ me."

"You need to find someone new." He said, his blue eyes holding hers. "Someone to love and who'll truly love you in return. You must put aside the past and get on with your life Aeris… No more hiding… No more running away… Stop looking back and go forward."

"That's easier said than done. I don't even know where to start."

"I'll tell you where. The next time a man asks you out, if you like him at all, you should say yes." Sky said this and stared at her for several long and incredibly meaningful moments and Aeris found herself holding her breath, waiting for him to say what she suddenly feared he was going to say.

And then he said it.

"Come out with _me_ Aeris."

Now she snatched her hand away, her eyes rounding into large green marbles even while her heart galloped.

"I liked you the first moment I saw you." He said seriously. "_More_ than liked."

"No!" She protested, the delicious idea scaring her, shaking her head violently at him. He had no idea what he was saying, let alone asking.

"Oh yes… Very much so."

"But I… I can't go out with _you_!"

"Why not? I promise you I'm not two-timing anyone… I'm here alone… And I have no wife or girlfriend hidden at home in Midgar who would object… All you have to do is say yes."

She jumped to her feet, unable to stay calmly sitting there. She hurried across the street away from him, but soon he fell into step behind her. "You can't run away from everything Aeris…" He ground out. "You're as attracted to me as I am to you. I _know_ you are."

"You don't know what you're saying! I'm your brother's wife!"

"In name only. You told me yourself. You despise him… You left him."

She found herself automatically heading back to where Sky had parked the bike, the shops and the tourists quickly left behind. The pavement they were striding on was quite deserted. "I haven't divorced him yet." She threw over her shoulder.

"You will though, _won't_ you?"

"I… I…"

He grabbed her arm and spun her round, his face harder than she had ever seen it. "What are you trying to say? That you're still in love with him?"

"I don't know…" She kept shaking her head in an agony of confusion. "Dear Gaia, I don't know anything anymore!!"

Suddenly she burst into tears, burying her face in her hands. She had no strength to stop him from taking her in his arms and cradling him against her.

"I'm sorry…"

She sobbed into his shirt, her agony and confusion increasing with the feelings which erupted within her as he stroked her hair and back. They were stronger than what she had felt the previous night, equally as strong as anything she had felt with Cloud. Before she knew it she was sliding her arms around Sky's waist, clinging to him, wanting him with a want that was beyond wanting.

With the last vestiges of her will she wrenched herself out of his arms and began to run, not looking back. She ran until she couldn't take another step. She was bent over, gasping like a fish out of water for breath, when the bike slid to a stop beside her.

"Get on." He ordered firmly, tossing her the spare helmet.

She straightened with a groan, her chest still rising and falling. Her hair had half fallen down with her flight, the honey coloured, sun kissed strands hanging loosely around her flushed face.

_The man on the bike tightened his grip on the handlebars as he stared at her. He thought she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen… Then and now… And he wanted her so much he ached terribly. Lying to her had been necessary at this point… Something he wished he didn't have to do… But he could see that if he wanted her in his life, he had to make her see that he was different from the man she once knew…_

Aeris's shoulders sagged as she finally gave in to common sense. Running away was futile. It achieved nothing. She'd run away from Cloud and six months later she was still running. It was time to stop… Even she could see that.

She walked over and climbed up onto the bike, jamming the helmet over her tousled hair and collapsing against his back with a shuddering sigh. Sky negotiated a U-turn before angling the bike over to the side of the road and snapping off the engine.

"Now let's be strictly honest with each other." He started as he tugged off his helmet, with a dark intensity in his voice. "What happened back there betrayed you _do_ feel attracted to me in return. Do you deny that?"

How could she? Her sigh was a mixture of distress and defeat. "I'm not in a position to deny or confirm it Sky, because frankly I don't know who it is I'm attracted to. That's why I get so upset when you're around. When I see you I see Cloud. Maybe what I feel for you is really for my husband."

She waited for him to look offended, but he didn't. He merely looked thoughtful.

"Well, I suppose that's only to be expected." He said with surprising cool. "You don't know me well enough yet to differentiate. But you will, if you give me a chance."

"I don't think giving you a chance is a good idea. You were right when you said I should forget Cloud. But how could I truly do that by moving on to his brother? Going out with you would be foolish of me and not fair to you."

"I don't give a crap about fairness." Sky grated out, startling Aeris with his sudden passion. He swung one leg over the bike so he was sitting sideways in his seat to take her face in his hands and turn it towards him. "I don't think you would be foolish going out with me… Not at all. Stop worrying about Cloud, Aeris… And just go with your heart."

He kissed her then; the passion in his voice was nothing to the passion in his mouth. Where Cloud seduced, Sky demanded, prying her lips apart with a hunger which would not be denied, his tongue plunging sensuously into her mouth. His fingertips tightened on her cheeks, his thumbs hooking under her chin while he held her face fiercely captive beneath him.

Not that he needed to hold her captive. She'd been with him all the way from the moment his mouth had met hers.

His lips lifted with an abruptness which left her gasping. They stared at each other, both breathing heavily. Aeris was shocked, for Sky had just proven himself to be a far more passionate man than his brother. Yet he had seemed so laid back the previous night. A calm, controlled, self-contained individual… The man staring at her now with a wildly glittering gaze left Cloud for dead in the emotional stakes.

"I wanted you from the first moment I saw you." He insisted, his turbulent blue eyes laying claim to the truth of his words.

Aeris's head whirled. She had felt the same way… But was that wanting real? Or just a replay of what she had already experienced with his brother?

Aeris hoped for the former, but feared the latter. Sky kept telling her to forget Cloud and move on, but her husband was never going to be forgotten as easily as that. The last thing she wanted was to hurt Sky. But on the other, what if what she was feeling for him _was_ real, and her so called love for Cloud the illusion?

"I won't rush you." He promised, reaching out to cup her face with gentle hands. "Just spend some time with me… Get to know me… Please…"

She might have done the noble thing and sent Sky on his way if he hadn't kissed her again at that moment, this time using a gently persuasive passion to undermine what little defenses she had left.

"If Cloud finds out…" She murmured shakily against his very tempting lips. "He'll go crazy…"

"Whys should he find out?"

She drew back and tried to regain some sense. "What if that _was_ Cid I saw? What if Cloud is having me watched?"

"Do you honestly believe my brother would be content with having you watched? I know Cloud… If he knew you were here, he'd storm up here in person. Cloud is confrontational… To give him credit, he's not afraid of a fight."

"If he ever finds me with you, you're the one he'll fight." Aeris warned, shuddering at the thought.

"Cloud doesn't frighten me." He pronounced with a rather Cloud like arrogance. "As I said before, he deplores violence."

"He could still ruin your business."

"He wouldn't dare."

"You sound very sure of that."

"Believe me I am."

Aeris was impressed. Anyone who could stand up to Cloud impressed her. That took real courage. She hadn't been able to do it.

It crossed her mind, however that the thought of asking her husband for a divorce didn't terrify her as much as it once had. She had grown stronger during the six months away from him without even realizing it. Still, she could not risk going back to Midgar until she was absolutely positive she could face Cloud without the fear of falling victim to his sexual spell once more.

She glanced over at Sky, not at all sure she wasn't about to fall victim to _his_ spell. He was as potentially attractive as his brother. Though 'victim' would not be the right word in Sky's case. No woman would ever be Sky's victim. She would go willingly in his arms.

"All right…" She finally agreed, her voice shaking a little. "I'll go out with you. But I… I won't promise you anything…" His face registered an astonishingly dark triumph. Dear Gaia, what had she done?

"When?" He demanded to know. "Tonight, after the cruise? I'll take you to dinner… I'll ask around and book somewhere nice."

"Nowhere too fancy." She said swiftly. "I don't have any fancy clothes."

"You'd look gorgeous in anything. So when and where will I pick you up?"

"If you send me home now, I'll show you."

"It's only one thirty… Do you really have to go home yet? We could go back to my place… There's a pool there. We could have a swim together?"

Aeris was tempted, she had to admit. She felt hot and sticky in the heat… But a swim meant skimpy costumes and possibly alone time in Sky's apartment. She wasn't all that confident of his promise not to rush her, not after the way he had just kissed her. On top of that, there was something she had to do, something she didn't want to tell Sky about…

"I really don't have the time." She said by way of excuse. "I have some housework to do this afternoon… And some washing." Which she did… But it wouldn't take her two hours.

Zack always picked her up for work at half past three, after his regular stop at the pub in town. He drove a small open air jalopy which he parked at the ready near the far end of the beach, opposite where the Zephyr was anchored. He ran her home around seven each night after the cruise, except for those nights when she stayed onboard. And Mondays of course… There was no sunset cruise for the Zephyr on Mondays.

But today was Friday.

"If you pick me up at eight." She said. "I should be ready by then."

"Eight it is. Now you'd better show me where this place of yours is located."

_After dropping Aeris off, the blonde haired blue eyed male tugged his mobile phone out from his pants back pocket and quickly dialed a number. It rang for a few short moments before a crisp voice took the call._

"_Yes sir?"_

"_You can go back to Midgar. I'll be here a while longer."_

"_But sir!"_

"_No buts Cid. I'll be just fine." _

**And there we go…. **

**Oh my GOOSES!! What do you think is going on? LOL I swear this is starting to sound like a soap drama…**

**Thanks to all again for your wonderful reviews!**

**See you guys again next week!**


End file.
